ABSTRACT
Modern round-the-clock operations demands disrupt sleep and circadian physiology with a variety of consequences. This chapter demonstrate how these consequences translate specifically into sleep loss, increased sleepiness, and decreased safety across a variety of representative work settings. The flight controllers in the Mission Operations Directorate who manage the shuttle flight on the ground are also averaging about 6.5 hour, except for those on the night shift who sleep only about 6.1 hour/day. Modern round-the-clock operations are commonplace in almost every work setting, meeting continual 24/7 societal demands. Circadian rhythms and time-of-day considerations therefore represent another of the core physiological factors that affect waking alertness, safety, and performance. Across many work settings, there is an increasing move to compress work time and schedules as a mechanism for obtaining more time off. Many circumstances that occur in real-world work settings can further affect physiological factors. Healthy sleep activities could range from informational materials to actual diagnostic screening of individuals in safety-sensitive positions.
